BBC News Online: Despatches

Italian iceman goes on show

The remains of a prehistoric man who died in an Alpine glacier 5,000 years ago have gone on public display for the first time at a new museum in northern Italy. BBC Rome Correspondent, David Willey, reports:

The iceman was discovered by some German hikers at an altitude of more than 3,000m, frozen into an Alpine glacier on the border between Italy and Austria. It is the first time that the remains of a prehistoric man have been recovered almost intact.

His cloak made of woven leaves, his quiver full of arrows, and his shoes and leggings made of animal skins have all gone on show, together with the iceman in a newly converted four-storey Natural History museum in the city of Bolzano. Bolzano is the capital of the Italian province of South Tyrol, which was transferred from Austria to Italy as part of the peace settlement at the end of the First World War.

The iceman himself now reposes inside a large refrigerator, built at a cost of over $1m. The temperature inside, -6°C at 98% humidity, is expected to preserve the body for many years to come.

There's a small viewing window for members of the public to peer inside. Ownership of the iceman, nicknamed 'Oetzi' by the Austrians after the Alpine valley in which he was found, has been disputed between Austria and Italy.

After six years of scientific research at Innsbruck University in Austria, the body was sent back to Italy earlier this year after an arbitration commission found that its original location was just over the Italian side of the icy Alpine border. The iceman, or 'Hibernatus' to Italians, is expected to become a big tourist attraction in the South Tyrol.

Already icecream shops are selling iceman sundaes, while the local winery has introduced an iceman wine label.

Relevant Stories

Italy's iceman comes home (16 Jan 98 | Sci/Tech)

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University of Innsbruck - information on the iceman

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